This invention relates to a bottle having a flattened cross sectional shape, and more particularly, to a hot-fill type bottle having a flattened cross sectional shape.
Cylindrical and regularly polygonal bottles provided with pressure reduction absorbing surfaces and operating as hot-fill bottles are known. However, when flattened bottles having body and showing an elliptic or rectangular cross section are used for hot-fill applications, the oppositely disposed flat walls become curved toward the inside when capped and cooled after the hot-fill operation and the lateral body walls connecting the flat walls are bulged toward the outside at a central part thereof.
Then, the bulged areas of the side walls of such bottles often give rise to problems when the bottles are transported after the hot-fill and cooling process. Additionally, if the bottles are packaged, the shoulders and/or the bottoms can become projecting during the transportation to reduce the efficiency of transportation.
Still additionally, when such bottles are displayed for sale, they are poorly appealing because of the bulged side walls.
Because of the above identified drawbacks, flattened bottles have not been used as hot-fill bottles.
In view of the above problems, it is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a flattened bottle having a pair of flattened body walls and a pair of side walls connecting the flattened body walls and being adapted to be deformed outward but located inside relative to the vertical planes connecting the upper and lower edges of the side walls corresponding to the curved deformation of the flat walls due to pressure reduction during and after the hot-fill and cooling process.
According to the invention, the above object is achieved by providing a flattened bottle comprising a neck, a shoulder, a body and a bottom, said body having an upper body section, a lower body section and a middle body section, said upper body section and said lower body section showing a substantially rectangular cross section with quadrant corners, said middle body section showing an elliptic cross section and having inwardly deformable front and rear walls and inwardly curved side walls, said side walls being adapted to be deformed outward corresponding to any inward deformation of the front and rear walls due to pressure reduction.
Preferably, said side walls are located inside relative to the vertical planes connecting the upper and lower ends of the side walls when they are deformed.
Preferably, the front and rear walls of the middle body section are provided with a plurality of horizontally extending ribs that allow the front and rear walls of the middle body section to be easily deformed during the process of filling the bottle with hot liquid and subsequently cooling the bottle.
A flattened bottle according to the invention provides the following advantages.
Since the middle body section of a flattened bottle according to the invention has inwardly deformable front and rear walls and side walls that are inwardly curved, the side walls are adapted to be deformed outward but located inside relative to the vertical planes connecting the upper and lower ends of the side walls corresponding to the curved deformation of the flat walls due to pressure reduction during and after the hot-fill and cooling process.
Therefore, the side walls of the bottle do not be bulged and hence the bottle can remain free from problems that may otherwise arise when it is transported after the cooling process so that the efficiency of transportation can be improved.